Husqvarna 450 or Dolmar 421?

[LittleLebowski]

Yes, but why? Why all this worry about heat? Ceramic coatings have been around since the 80s. And it doesn't exactly look super hard to do.
http://honda-tech.com/tech-misc-15/diy-internal-engine-coatings-first-attempt-check-out-1971333/

Was the world so entranced by slick 50 snake oil, ron popeil gadgets, and new duct tape formulations that they weren't ceramic coating their engine parts?

I mean, look at this, if a crazed nascar hillbilly could do it, why not others? http://www.legendarycollectorcars.c...s-see-and-hear-it-run-in-our-exclusive-video/

Why did the world seemingly snooze for three decades on this technology? It was **** on VHS tapes wasn't it? Once that came out, and the internet, progress stopped cold, people were too distracted to develop new things!

Why were the manufacturers so complacent? I don't see how the internet had anything to do with it; it's just information and it makes it widely available. If anything, the internet helps development as people can share information so much more easily and collaborate online.

 

[Franny K]

Why were the manufacturers so complacent?

Some of the stuff on here is just stirring the pot so to speak. The 421 you have coming likely has it's cylinder made in a very modern facility that makes stuff for a wide range of products. It will have worse exhaust fumes than some other options but not worse than what most of us have been around for a long time. I doubt it will need re tuning if you do not tamper with something. I have never adjusted my 351.

 

[Chris-PA]

Why did the world seemingly snooze for three decades on this technology?

Well, chainsaws are cheap power tools, even the best and most desirable ones. There is no advanced technology in any of them, and any modestly competent industrial economy can produce them at whatever quality level is needed. It's about making money not making cool stuff for enthusiasts, so you get the minimum required to sell the stuff.

 

[Franny K]

Well, chainsaws are cheap power tools, even the best and most desirable ones. There is no advanced technology in any of them,

I do not have an issue with the portion of your post I did not quote.

change cheap to inexpensive
The cylinder coatings are most likely advancing.
The ignition seems improving, the only relatively new chainsaw I have that kicks back is my efco 132. There must be something going on in the ignition module that has advanced (and not in degrees).

 

[Michigan Escapee]

Why were the manufacturers so complacent? I don't see how the internet had anything to do with it; it's just information and it makes it widely available. If anything, the internet helps development as people can share information so much more easily and collaborate online.

The autocensor bleeped out my word. Lets just say, I suspect people found new hobbies relating to electronics and adult entertainments, rather than meddling with engines, as was popular from the 1920s-1970s. For those still playing with small engines, probably the offroad bikes of various sorts had people's attentions rather than chainsaws, and various nuts were putting snowmobile engines into different things, and going crazy. And to date, that seems to be where the attention still is. That and the various honda/yamaha/toyota rice rockets.

Still, the materials and technology are there, I suppose it's just a question of if people want to apply it. Or of there's more interest in restoring 50 year old chainsaws.

 

[Chris-PA]

I do not have an issue with the portion of your post I did not quote.

change cheap to inexpensive
The cylinder coatings are most likely advancing.
The ignition seems improving, the only relatively new chainsaw I have that kicks back is my efco 132. There must be something going on in the ignition module that has advanced (and not in degrees).

Oh, there is advancement, but other than Strato and AT they're pretty much roaring into the 1980's!

Heck, the clever part of AT was figuring out how to measure fuel mixture with nothing but an rpm measurement. Somebody earned their pay with that.

 

[zogger]

Oh, there is advancement, but other than Strato and AT they're pretty much roaring into the 1980's!

Heck, the clever part of AT was figuring out how to measure fuel mixture with nothing but an rpm measurement. Somebody earned their pay with that.

If you can actually make a straight mechanical carb that performs as good or better as MT or AT, and can pass emissions, etc., man, that's a ticket to fame and fortune I would think! I'd buy a few right now, like for the 346xp, 371/2, 394 etc.

 

[CoreyB]

I can't say I'm enjoying the vitriol but serious question:
Saw parts can and are usually cheap. Has anyone here replaced AT parts?

Oh Ya lots of AT parts have had to be replaced. Heck the 562 as went through at least 3 updates on carbs sense they came out do to problems. Plus everything mechanical breaks down and a lot of these saws get used daily and real hard .

 

[CoreyB]

I don't see how an AT carb could be more epa friendly other than removing the human component.

 

[Chris-PA]

I don't see how an AT carb could be more epa friendly other than removing the human component.

It's because of the point I've been repeating for some time now - in order to make these carbs all-position, they had to remove a basic part of all other carbs, namely the air corrector jets. These are what keep the fuel mixture constant as the air flow changes. Without them the mixture gets very, very rich as air flow increases, to the point that it misfires (4-strokes) with only a small increase in rpm. In addition to self adjusting, AT fixes this basic flaw. It could have been fixed with out AT, but...

If you can actually make a straight mechanical carb that performs as good or better as MT or AT, and can pass emissions, etc., man, that's a ticket to fame and fortune I would think! I'd buy a few right now, like for the 346xp, 371/2, 394 etc.

You'd have to add something like a 3rd diaphragm and a tapered needle in the H jet, or go to a full CV carb like a Zenith or Mikuni. This would be larger and more mechanically complex than AT, and it still would need adjustment. And adjustment would be the real big problem with it, as it would no longer 4-stroke and would not have a terminal WOT rpm to use as a mixture set point. How would you tell people to adjust it? You'd also need a limited coil, as the rich mixture would no longer limit rpm so safe levels.

 

[LittleLebowski]

The autocensor bleeped out my word. Lets just say, I suspect people found new hobbies relating to electronics and adult entertainments, rather than meddling with engines, as was popular from the 1920s-1970s. For those still playing with small engines, probably the offroad bikes of various sorts had people's attentions rather than chainsaws, and various nuts were putting snowmobile engines into different things, and going crazy. And to date, that seems to be where the attention still is. That and the various honda/yamaha/toyota rice rockets.

Respectfully, that does not make sense at all to me. Are you saying that the user base for small engines drove development from "the 1920s-1970s" and when the user base lost interest in small engines as a hobby, that kept the companies from developing and evolving small engine design?

 

[Michigan Escapee]

Respectfully, that does not make sense at all to me. Are you saying that the user base for small engines drove development from "the 1920s-1970s" and when the user base lost interest in small engines as a hobby, that kept the companies from developing and evolving small engine design?

It makes more sense if you look at automotive racing, motorcycle racing, various offroad bikes, 4 wheelers, etc, etc. There's a sort of feedback loop, of what the users develop in their mods, and the industry trying to keep up and supply what's of interest to a certain niche. Obviously GM, Nissan, Dodge, and others are going to be a bit more conservative with what they supply out of the factory. The modders, they're going to push the technology to the absolute bleeding edge. And in automotive, you have professional racing where engines, cars, everything are fabricated from the ground up. Various part suppliers will make different items to supply to each of those groups.

Now chainsaws, for the most part, you've got home owners/farmers, professionals who use the saws as a means to make money, and a small hobbyist base. The hobbyist base, as you can see, a lot of them are keeping old saws alive, doing some simple mods, and more advance mods. Not too many are fabricating pistons, cylinders, cranks, etc, etc out of bare metal stock, or doing their own forging, casting, surface hardening. Oh, certainly there are SOME, but I have to wonder how many of those are doing chainsaw porting, piping, and all of that are just doing it as a sideline along with offroad bikes, and who knows what else.

And while there are some good base models of chainsaws out there to mod, I don't think too many manufacturers are thinking, yeah, we'll add a little extra thickness to these parts, and improve tolerances a bit in case someone wants to go crazy with em.

 

[MountainHigh]

spent 45 minutes cutting with the EA4300 (PS421) today. I'm really liking this little saw!
It seems incredibly strong in the cut for 43cc saw. Noodled some knotty maple rounds today and was quite amazed at how well it handled them.

Weight is nice, handling is good, handy size, stable on it's feet, quality suspension, but the thing that really stands out on this saw is starting - this is a saw that an 80 year could start. It's so easy it brings a smile to my face every time. The recoil spring assist is pretty strong so you can't get complacent about the return snap. Keep a firm grip on the pull handle. So far there is nothing flimsy or cheap about this saw I can see, except its price.

I know I'll miss my 562 (still in the shop) when I want to tearthrough a couple of downed trees tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the 4300 does when running hot for some time. (haven't gutted the muffler yet).

Heading up the mountain tomorrow for a better workout.

 

[LittleLebowski]

Mine has shipped from @fordf150! I seriously might take the day off after it arrives, I need to work it.

 

[7sleeper]

spent 45 minutes cutting with the EA4300 (PS421) today. I'm really liking this little saw!
It seems incredibly strong in the cut for 43cc saw. Noodled some knotty maple rounds today and was quite amazed at how well it handled them.

Weight is nice, handling is good, handy size, stable on it's feet, quality suspension, but the thing that really stands out on this saw is starting - this is a saw that an 80 year could start. It's so easy it brings a smile to my face every time. The recoil spring assist is pretty strong so you can't get complacent about the return snap. Keep a firm grip on the pull handle. So far there is nothing flimsy or cheap about this saw I can see, except its price.

I know I'll miss my 562 (still in the shop) when I want to tearthrough a couple of downed trees tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the 4300 does when running hot for some time. (haven't gutted the muffler yet).

Heading up the mountain tomorrow for a better workout.

No pics?!? It never happened....













Congratulation!

7

 

[CoreyB]

No pics?!? It never happened....













Congratulation!

7

This is exactly why I never take photos or video of me petting or I mean polishing my saws......
It never happened.

 

[LittleLebowski]

Darned near praying that the USPS delivers today like they claim they will.

 

[CoreyB]

Ya it sucks waiting.

 

[MountainHigh]

Great little saw - mine (with cat) prefers 50/1 mix - guessing the Cat chokes things down and can't handle 40/1 as well as my other saws, as the ea4300 was stumbling on hot start until I changed the mix to 50/1 and leaned the L just a smidge when at elevation.

So handy and light - prefer using this to my 562 in anything under 12" for sure. It will even cut 16" wood at max bar oil pretty easily on the stock 18" bar. Did I say it's a great saw yet
Not quite ready to say I won't ever use my 346 again, but the solid stance of this saw compared to my OE346 is much better and power seems pretty darn close.

Second tank through and the partial load of wood it cut:

That tank of gas also cut 40% of my buddies load as his ms250 struggled to keep up.

 

[LittleLebowski]

Guys, I got it in yesterday. I was so worried that the USPS would screw up the delivery and leave without my new saw for the weekend that I went to the post office before the carrier took delivery and got the saw myself

I ain't gonna say what goodies were in the box but between those, the lightning fast shipping, the price no one else,could beat, and the perfectly tuned saw; I cannot recommend doing business with @fordf150 enough. If he has what you are looking for, it's worth it to go to him for your equipment needs.

So after getting confused with the overly verbose manual, I got the chain on there and tensioned just right. Added the proper mix and some oil and even though I was technically helping get the house ready for guests, I just had to get it on.

Oh man, after all of that dinking around with the Poulan 5020AV, this was like upgrading to a Mercedes or BMW. Ridiculously easy start, cuts way way better than the Poulan, and it just functioned right. No dying in the cut, idled just right, and it just ripped right through the several already downed trees I needed to buck. After that, I cut down a very large stump and found out later that there was a nail buried deep in the wood (not in the bark, way deep in there!) that the saw cut through.

I am truly satisfied with the Dolmar 421 and wish I'd bought it sooner. The saw just exudes high build quality and performs at a level I've never experienced before.